I tried it today and it really does help - so I wanted to share it with all of you

Simply tie off the insane serpentine belt to the hood of your ride with a bungee cord and it'll keep it connected to all the other pulleys while you make your repairs. I had to take the alternator off this '91 Cutlass Ciera to replace a simple bypass hose and that bungee cord kept that belt in place. All I had to do was replace the alternator and hold the belt till I had enough slack to slip back over and all was done! Easiest time I have ever had with one of those belts ever!

Still have the Hawk, figured the window sweeps would cure my water leakage problem but it hasn't. What has fixed it for now is a good car cover

With my situation, it now takes some planning if I'm going to drive it...parking the Miata out of the way, making sure the battery is charged the day before, etc. Plus now when it's a nice day, I just can't bring myself to take the Hawk instead of the Miata...love my top down drives!

As for repairs, I don't think there is anything to be done on the Hawk that I can do myself anymore, what's left is bodywork.

Wayne, you nailed down my worst fears about ragtop ownership!! Everytime I have had opportunity knock with a convertible needing a good home something always gave me a strong pause. How can any steel top compare with that open air experience! I recently had a fellow offer up a 3rd gen needing a transaxle for just $50 and I just couldn't take that plunge. It gotta be tough having a Skyhawk and leaving it behind on those beautiful days - but - how can I blame you my friend. I'd be doing the same thing too!

Maybe one day you'll get bored with that Miata and..........oh hell - I am not even going to go there

wipers go with the speed of the car...sometimes.
other than the speedometer, the gauges do...whatever
radio...what's that?
HVAC...the air will blow out of whatever vent it damn well feels like blowing out of
radiator fan...well Wayne fixed that one himself, but of course it doesn't come on automatically anymore, I have to turn the HVAC control to AC when I'm in traffic.

Great trick! Iíll kee that in mind when I rebuild the original alternator from the car. When I say original I mean the one it was manufactured with. Anyhow that trick will be useful for when I have to remove the belt.

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